The bright future of Xbox Series X / S: What games are Microsoft studios working on?

We review all the games on the way for Microsoft’s next-generation console, which this time has many more studios behind it, such as Bethesda.

There are dates that are simply special. Dates that shake us inside and cause all the butterflies that inhabit our stomach to fly away. The days of birthdays, graduations and the Three Kings. Those of Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The day that summer vacation begins and the day our children are born, or that we get married. Among all of them there is one in particular that all readers of this page have in common. It is the premiere day of a new console. An event that occurs once every seven years, or what is the same, less frequently than the Olympic Games and the World Cup. Even shooting stars are more common. For this reason, this week is made up of seven days of joy and festivity for video game fans, as will the next. In his case due to the launch of PlayStation 5 and in this case due to the departure of Xbox Series X / S, which we hope is already in the house of many of you. Microsoft has remained in charge of kicking off the next gen and we have believed that there is no better way to celebrate the occasion than by remembering its magnificent future. Because thanks to the new strategy of the company, which has been reinforcing its internal studies based on a checkbook for years (no one will forget the purchase of Bethesda), we have more developers than ever to keep track of and more games underway of which you could think at first. So we have compiled a list of all the Xbox Games Studios first party developers and all the projects they are involved in, all the games on the way. So that your hype flaps its wings as much as those happy butterflies.

343 Industries

• Foundation year: 2007
• Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States
• Approximate number of employees: 500 employees
• Featured Games: Halo 4 (2012), Halo The Master Chief Collection (2014), Halo 5 Guardians (2015), Halo Wars 2 (2017)

At the time of writing, 343 Industries cannot be said to be sweet. On the contrary, the current makers of the Halo saga are on the ropes and living their most delicate moment to date. It’s true that Bungie’s shoes were always a bit too big for them, but still the studio had managed to put out two notable installments (Halo 4 and Halo 5 Guardians) with which they smoothed out a transition that, make no mistake, was extremely complicated. . Halo Infinite seemed like its consecration, a blow on the table, the definitive title of the study and a perfect opportunity to claim and clear up doubts. However, the first gameplay shown on July 23 did not live up to expectations. Well, neither from expectations, nor from development with the largest budget in Xbox history, nor from the game called to lead the Series X / S launch catalog. The barrage of criticism and ridicule, with Craig’s meme at the fore, was one of those that is not forgotten. And the news that appeared after the gameplay did not help either. What if it was conceived as a service game, what if ray tracing was not going to be available on departure … The joke did not last a month because Microsoft postponed the game to 2021, Phil Spencer apologized to the fans and the director of the project, Chris Lee, resigned a few weeks ago to leave his position to Joe Staten and Pierre Hintze, both part of Bungie’s old guard.

As you will understand, on such a convulsive development it is difficult to guess, but one thing seems clear: 343 Industries only has eyes for Halo Infinite. The study wants to redirect the situation and is not there to diversify efforts. Therefore, his future passes solely and exclusively through Halo. Maybe it even depends on Halo. It also seems clear that we are going to have some Infinite in 2021 yes or yes. Recently several rumors came out hinting that the delay would be extended until 2022 and 343 itself came out to deny them. But yes, he left the door open for the game to arrive in a staggered manner. Maybe we have the online first between us and then the campaign. And the franchise beta is now a tradition, so that seems the first stop, the most probable and safe in 2021. To add some optimism and hope, at the playable level that first gameplay was not to pull your hair out either. It had several green shoots. If you get the hang of the new graphics engine (the Slipspace Engine), select better what they show and finish renovating the whole, surely the impressions are very different. Let’s hold on to one of the slogans in the series: Deliver Hope.

The Coalition

• Foundation year: 2010
• Headquarters: Vancouver, Canada
• Approximate number of employees: 300 employees
• Featured Games: Gears of War 4 (2016), Gears 5 (2019)

With The Coalition, it is the exact opposite of 343 Industries. The study is better than ever, it continues to grow and Microsoft has repeatedly made it clear that for them it is a key developer in their future plans. It is one of the most numerous teams in the Xbox family, has its base of operations in Vancouver and has achieved feats such as that a 2019 title is still in the ointment more than a year later and even seems one of the most attractive to release Xbox Series X / S. We are talking about Gears 5, its current right eye, which these days releases a new update loaded with playable content and graphic novelties with which to take advantage of the arrival of the next gen. It is no longer that it is difficult to imagine The Coalition in something other than Gears of War (at least in the short term), but it is also difficult to imagine it in something other than Gears 5, because the latest installment of the saga has rope to little while.

To the next gen patch we must add the premiere of its new multiplayer season. It’s called Operation 5, it arrives in a week and promises to be one of the ones that adds the most changes online. And in turn, Operation 5 will be followed by an expansion for the campaign mode that stars the Scorpio team (made up of Keegan, Lahni and Mac, the characters from Escape mode). Nobody would work so much on a project if they had the intention of relieving it in a matter of months, so we will have to wait a long time to enjoy Gears 6, the closing of the trilogy, which points to 2022 … and that at the earliest. We’ll see if The Coalition takes a break first, or if it waits for a change of scene to wait for the story of JD, Kait and Del to conclude. We will certainly never have enough locust, wormholes and hammers of dawn.

Turn 10 Studios

• Foundation year: 2001
• Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States
• Approximate number of employees: 100 employees
• Featured Games: Has performed all Forza Motorsports (latest, Forza Motorsport 7, 2017) and assisted in all Forza Horizons (latest, Forza Horizon 4, 2018)

Its size is surprising, but Turn 10 is one of Microsoft’s most veteran and consolidated studios. The little heart of the developer has always been occupied by the motor world and things do not look like going to change. Last July, without going any further, Microsoft confirmed that they were already working on the eighth installment of the Forza Motorsport franchise and even showed a first trailer of it running on Xbox Series X. Curiously, the game has been announced without a number in the title, that is to say that for now it is not called Forza Motorsport 8, but Forza Motorsport to dry. Everything indicates that it could stay that way because, according to what is read on its website, it is a reinvention of the series, of collecting the best that it has given over the last 15 years and “integrating it with new concepts and technologies ”. They don’t want the number eight to divert attention and a sense of continuity. This time they want to go a step further in the genre and not stay in the “more and better”. It all sounds great, but of course, this also has its implications on the calendar. Dan Greenawalt, the creative director of the series, has released a notice to fans and said that they are still in an early stage of development. It is by no means confirmed that we are going to take the glove in 2021. We will see if they press the accelerator when we see Gran Turismo 7 overtake them (since Yamauchi’s title is dated for next year). Whether they do it or not, the new Forza Motorsport is a guarantee for lovers of asphalt and simulation that they will be made with an Xbox Series X. From now on it will be a regular at the brand’s events, in which it will be necessary to see if it complies its promise to revolutionize the series and push ForzaTech to the max by offering racing with 4K, 60 frames per second and ray tracing.

Playground Games

• Foundation year: 2010
• Headquarters: Leamington, in Spa, UK
• Approximate number of employees: 250 employees
• Featured Games: Has played every Forza Horizon (latest, Forza Horizon 4, from 2018)

The growth of “the little sister” of Turn 10 Studios is unstoppable. She was born as a support developer, later she was in charge of making the arcade spin off of the Forza saga and has ended up making the Xbox One exclusive with the highest note in the entire catalog (Forza Horizon 4, with a 92 in MetaCritic). These developments have also translated into new responsibilities and more staff. More than twice as many people work at Playground Games as at Turn 10 Studios and the company has expanded horizons and split into several different teams. One of them is working to resurrect Fable, the legendary RPG franchise that Lionhead Studios once created and spearheaded the Microsoft catalog. The series has been ostracized since 2010, when Fable III was released, and since then it has only given us dislikes (such as Fable Heroes, Fable: The Journey, Fable Legends and Fable Fortune). Although we have not seen Playground Games outside of the driving genre, that the saga has fallen into their hands seems like great news. And if the results are close to those of Forza Horizon, we are in luck. Returning to Albion would be to return to a world full of dreamy landscapes, fantasy and colors, a world of hilarious humor and hundreds of playable options. Fingers crossed that it be so.

But as we said, the studio now consists of several different teams. The latest job offers published by the company, and in which personnel were being sought for a new driving game, seem to indicate that the second group is beginning to conceive Forza Horizon 5. In order not to step on each other, surely it will not be announced, nor do we know anything of him until the new Forza Motorsport is not on the road. And if we saw before that it could skip 2021, the thing with Forza Horizon 5 seems to go for a long time. You will have to be patient and limit yourself to dreaming about what the saga can become in the new generation as soon as you improve an already outstanding formula. Some rumors suggest that a third team and a third project could even be forging within Playground, but officially the next years of the developer will go through the return of Fable and the new Horizon, which is not exactly little.

Rare

• Foundation year: 1985
• Headquarters: Twycross, Leicestershire, UK
• Approximate number of employees: 200 employees
• Featured Games: Kameo: Elements of Power (2005), Perfect Dark Zero (2005), Viva Piñata (2006), Killer Instinct (2013), all featured in Rare Replay (2015), Sea of ​​Thieves (2018)

Yes, okay, chances are that Rare will never go back to that golden age that he lived in the late nineties, when in little more than five years he pulled one masterpiece after another: Donkey Kong Country (1994), Killer Instinct (1995), GoldenEye 007 (1997), Banjo-Kazooie (1998), Jet Force Gemini (1999), Perfect Dark (2000), Conker’s Bad Fur Day (2001) … and so on. But even so, it is not dead, buried and entombed either, as at times it seemed during the stage that it passed under the dark mandate of Kinect. The studio has seen the light at the end of the tunnel and its latest project, Sea of ​​Thieves, has made even Microsoft see them with different eyes. His pirate odyssey had a somewhat tepid initial reception back in 2018, when the amount of content it offered was doubted and its differences with what it had been showing in the trailers were criticized. However, as the dates go by, it has been receiving all kinds of free updates and expansions that have ended up turning the title into one of the most original, complete and fun online experiences in recent years. Above successful, because his jump to PC has made him enjoy a second youth and has remained for months and months at the top of the Steam charts, both in sales and in simultaneous players. It has been slow and it has been based on cannon shots, but Rare has sunk his ghosts.

His future is now much more hopeful. Microsoft hopes to make it their “factory of new IPs”, wants to give you freedom and let you create all the worlds that occur to them. The first of these new ideas will be Everwild, a title around which there are more unknowns than answers. In the game we will put ourselves in the shoes of “the eternal ones”, guardians and defenders of nature who interact with strange and fascinating creatures that they protect from various pests and enemies. No specific playable mechanics have been released, but its artistic section has already fallen in love with more than one. But there is life outside of Everwild. We are not referring only to Sea of ​​Thieves, which continues to have long-term content plans and has just been updated with news for the next gen, but also to Rare’s chest of memories, the bottle of essences where it keeps all its licenses and classic characters. Microsoft has assured that if they want to bring back Banjo or Conker, for example, they are totally in favor. It is something that only depends on them. Seeing that Banjo walks through Smash Bros. and that Rare gave the go-ahead and collaborated in the resurrection of Battletoads, it may be that in addition to Everwild we have some more joy, with a special dose of nostalgia. Your future invites optimism.

The Initative

• Foundation year: 2018
• Headquarters: Santa Monica, California, United States
• Approximate number of employees: unknown
• Featured games: no previous work

We don’t know what they’re up to, they don’t have any games on their resume, and yet The Initiative is the talk of all. For many it is the ace up the sleeve of Microsoft, a studio that has been working since its foundation (2018) on a triple A project for Xbox Series X / S. The only thing that leaks out of it are the spectacular signings he is making and that make one think of a dream team in the world of video games. And it is that The Initiative will have figures such as Darrell Gallagher, responsible for the rebirth of Tomb Raider, or Brian Westergaard, producer of the last God of War. They will be joined by “top names and talents from the most respected developers,” as Microsoft commented. Some examples of them are Christian Cantamessa and Tom Sheperd, from Rockstar Games; Daniel Neuburger of Crystal Dynamics; or Lee Davis and Lauren Garcia from Naughty Dog, so we could go on all day. And make no mistake, none of those names belongs to the “cafe boy” from his previous study. Lee Davis, for example, is primarily responsible for the combat animations of Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 4, as well as those we saw in The Last of Us, both in the original and in its recent sequel, acclaimed among many other things precisely. therefore, for its animation system. The list of names is endless, it looks really luxurious and sets the bar high for what is still the studio’s first project.

As for the game itself, Matt Booty, head of Microsoft Studios, announced at the end of last year that it will be shown in 2020. In turn, Drew Murray, the narrative director of the study, assured that they had a playable prototype from beginning to end. finish. The coronavirus and all the delays that it has entailed (more than forty) seem to have also postponed the presentation of the game in society, but there is still the bullet of The Game Awards, so you never know. At last year’s awards gala Microsoft took the opportunity to present Xbox Series X and Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga, so you never know. Rumors about the project have long pointed to Perfect Dark, which could be back, but in the third person and with an important multiplayer component. It would make sense to leave in the hands of such a human group one of Microsoft’s most important sagas and one of the most beloved characters in the community, Joanna Dark. Pending its official announcement, The Initative may be one of Xbox’s big surprises in the short-medium term.

Can The Initiative bring us back to Joanna Dark?

Ninja Theory

• Foundation year: 2000
• Headquarters: Cambridge, England
• Approximate number of employees: 150
• Featured Games: Heavenly Sword (2007), DmC: Devil May Cry (2013), Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010), Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (2017)

It is an all-rounder. Ninja Theory is an all-rounder and an especially prolific one too. Before being part of Xbox Game Studios, the British developer played all kinds of styles and genres. He made fighting games (Kung Fu Chaos), hack and slash (Heavenly Sword and DmC: Devil May Cry), adventures (Enslaved: Odyssey to the West) and has even collaborated on virtual reality titles (such as Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series). It is not surprising then that it is one of the studios with the most projects in hand and one that generates the most expectations. Something that Microsoft itself seemed to confirm when choosing Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II to accompany the announcement of its new console, Xbox Series X. The sequel to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is surely the work to which more resources are being allocated and it is not for less, being the continuation of one of the sleepers of 2018 and the winner of five BAFTA awards for its Nordic setting and its history, which delved into the ins and outs of the human mind and told a story related to psychosis. From this new installment we hardly know that it will run on Unreal Engine 5, it is located in Iceland and will have the Heilung group in charge of its soundtrack. But its first trailer and the promise that it makes of a heart attack graphic section has been enough to trigger our hype.

As we said, Ninja Theory has always been especially prolific and proves it again having several projects in hand. They are known as “double A”, that is, video games with the appearance of a large production that are carried out without the huge budgets of triple A titles. Within this category, for example, the existence of a game is confirmed hyper-realistic horror movie known as Project: Mara. The developer considers it an experiment with which she wants to “redefine the way stories are told” and investigate a little more in “the mysteries and diseases of the mind”, on which they have a dense documentation after studying them thoroughly for the first Hellblade. And precisely Hellblade is the example to follow, since the first was also a “double A” whose success has allowed the existence of the sequel, which this time will be AAA. To both projects, which should be known much more in the coming months, will be added the more independent games with which the studio is always testing and the initiatives it is embarking on this time. There is an example of this Bleeding Edge, which continues to be a multiplayer third person shooter announced and released from one year to the next. Or Project Insight, a strange project that seeks to combine video games with clinical neuroscience. One never knows where Ninja Theory is going to come out, a restless ass, a free soul from which we can expect many and very diverse video games during this generation.

Mojang studios

• Foundation year: 2009
• Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
• Approximate number of employees: 75
• Featured Games: Minecraft (2012), Minecraft Dungeons (2020)

Mojang was one of the first acquisitions of “the new Microsoft.” Or more than Mojang, Minecraft, which is what its name came to mean in 2014. More than six years later, things have not changed much, why lie. Apart from Cobalt, a parenthesis in her career, the developer has spent the last five years dedicating herself to expanding her brand. Not only has it taken Minecraft to all platforms available and to have, expanding its contents and possibilities, but it has also lent itself to collaborations (Minecraft: Story Mode, with Telltale Games) and has made two more releases on it (Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons). And its future depends on continuing to strengthen it. What if ray tracing in Minecraft, what if a movie on the way, a lot of expansions for Dungeons … Let no one doubt that we will have creepers, sheep and endermans for a while. It is an open secret that a new version of Minecraft is already being prepared to take advantage of the features of Xbox Series X / S. In any case, now that Microsoft has recovered the investment and that Mojang is self-sufficient, this may also be the generation where we see the studio lavishing itself on new challenges. To begin with, he wanted to revamp his image and recently changed his logo and name, becoming Mojang Studios. “We humans like to reinvent ourselves from time to time, so we thought it was time to extend that courtesy to our company, which has been around for more than ten years,” declared Mojang herself after the change of look, a moment that also He took the opportunity to promise “to explore new corners of the Minecraft universe” and during which he claimed to be shuffling “various ideas for totally new games.” So, for the first time in years, Mojang’s future with Xbox seems to be more than just Minecraft. We are eager to know what that means.

Undead Labs

• Foundation year: 2009
• Headquarters: Seattle, in Washington, United States
• Approximate number of employees: 75
• Featured Games: State of Decay (2013), State of Decay 2 (2018)

The future of Undead Labs with Microsoft does not leave much room for imagination. Although in the past they showed interest in making an MMO, the announcement of State of Decay 3 makes it quite clear where the present and future of the study passes. Even more so if we take into account that it is not a very large studio, that its developments tend to take longer (five years passed between the first and second State of Decay) and that it also usually gives enough support to its creations. State of Decay 2 updates, expansions, and enhancements have continued to arrive over two years after the game’s release (which is from 2018 and this very 2020, for example, it received its Juggernaut Edition). Then the only thing to solve is whether they will bet on the early access model that some of the Xbox Game Pass titles are starting so much (such as Grounded), or if this time they wait to have everything well polished and tied before taking it out, so that they do not pass invoice in the notes, as it happened with its predecessor. But the next five years of Undead Labs seems to be going to consist of new doses of blood, zombies and resource management. And as fans, so happy.

Compulsion Games

• Foundation year: 2009
• Headquarters: Montreal, Canada
• Approximate number of employees: 100
• Featured Games: Contrast (2013), We Happy Few (2018)

We haven’t heard from Compulsion Games since the final version of We Happy Few was released, back in 2018. But don’t panic, that’s normal. The studio is one of the smallest Microsoft had (it had around 50 employees) and it has spent the last few months looking for a flat … and new colleagues for it. The latest information that is confirmed about the developer talks about their move to a new office in Montreal in which they intend to accommodate more than a hundred people. In other words, he has been growing and preparing for his next project, about which we unfortunately know little. At the time, some illustrations by Yurie Kawana, an artist from Compulsion Games, were leaked, which triggered the rumor mill and many associated with the design of a new survival horror. Shortly before it was also rumored that it was a third-person adventure that was going to make use of Unreal Engine 5. But nothing has been confirmed and the only thing for sure, and said by Compulsion itself, is that the game “will be just as bizarre” than his previous works, Contrast and We Happy Few, which stood out for their setting and script, with a good load of political criticism and social problems. A type of title that until now was not abundant among the hosts of Microsoft and with more people and budget can be an important leap for the study.

Compulsion Games has been silent since We Happy Dew (2018), but in this time they have doubled their staff and started preparing a game “as bizarre as the previous two”.

Obsidian Entertainment

• Foundation year: 2003
• Headquarters: California, United States
• Approximate number of employees: 200
• Featured Games: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II (2004), Neverwinter Nights 2 (2006), Alpha Protocol (2010), Fallout New Vegas (2010), Pillars of Eternity (2015), The Outer Worlds (2019)

Moonlighting. This is how Obsidian is right now, hosting up to four developments at the same time. The creators of Fallout New Vegas, Star Wars KOTOR II, Alpha Protocol or Pillars of Eternity were one of the most talked about acquisitions of Microsoft and their logo seems to be repeated frequently on our consoles over the next few years. On the one hand, there are the future downloadable content of his latest RPG, The Outer Worlds, on which part of the studio is still working. On the other hand, Grounded, his particular “Honey, I’ve shrunk the children”, which is still in an early access version. The game started as an experiment, as a grace, but it has been creating community and has generated more sympathy than expected, so the updates begin to be more and more ambitious (the last one, aquatic fauna) and the arrival of the final version It doesn’t seem to have its mark made on the nearest pages of the calendar.

In third place is Avowed, for many “the Skyrim of Obsidian”, a triple A RPG set in a fantasy world full of swords, spells and evil creatures. Little is known about him outside of his trailer, although rumors do not stop happening, including of course those that speak of his departure date, estimated for 2022 or 2023. It would take a couple of years in development with more than a hundred people behind and the dimensions of their cities, battles and mapping seem to be the feature that is being emphasized the most. Very different dialogue systems and companions are anticipated from what we saw in The Outer Worlds. But there is still more because after the presentation of Avowed, one of the main directors of the study, Josh Sawyer, claimed to be in charge of another different project, so we still have surprises on the way and the only thing closed at this point are several servings of role of the good.

inXile Entertainment

• Foundation year: 2002
• Headquarters: California, United States
• Approximate number of employees: 75
• Featured Games: The Bard’s Tale (2004), Wasteland 2 (2014), Torment: Tides of Numenera (2017), Wasteland 3 (2020)

But if the RPGs that Obsidian is preparing are not enough for you, here are two more cups and from the hand of inXile Entertainment, great master of the genre and creator of, for example, The Bard’s Tale. We had not done the digestion of Wasteland 3 (released in August of this year) and Brian Fargo’s company already announced on its social networks that it is preparing two more RPGs for PC and the new generation, Xbox Series X / S. One of them, yes, is “in a neonatal pre-production phase” and is going to be long. The other will also have to wait because first inXile has to take care of Frostpoint VR: Proving Grounds, a triple A shooter with the aroma of Battlefield and destined for Steam VR and Oculus. Due to the coronavirus, he has had to postpone the date of his beta, so the information of the new jobs will have to wait. In any case, inXile RPGs take completely different ways and styles from Obsidian, so between the two and Bethesda, Microsoft has filled two of the great holes in its library, single-player adventures and role-playing titles.

Obsidian, inXile and Bethesda will make sure that RPG lovers don’t go hungry with Xbox Series X.

Double Fine Productions

• Foundation year: 2000
• Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
• Approximate number of employees: 75
• Featured Games: Psychonauts (2005), Brütal Legend (2009), Costume Quest (2010), The Cave (2013), Costume Quest 2 (2014), Broken Age (2014)

And from RPGs we go to graphic adventures at the hands of Double Fine. Well, to the graphic adventures and whatever, because the next work of the studio is Psychonauts 2, an old-school platforms that will arrive during the first half of 2021. The alliance with Microsoft will prevent the works of Double Fine relied on kickstarter, which is how unfortunately Raz’s new adventure had to be funded. Looking ahead, a week ago three of the games written and designed by the studio’s founder, Tim Schafer, hit Xbox Game Pass. Three games that everyone should try and that give a good account of the doses of wit, humor and talent that we can expect from them. They are the remasters of Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle and Grim Fandango. And although they are not very given to sequels, who would say no to Brütal Legend 2? Microsoft confirmed that a remastering of the original is part of their plans and Jack Black has shown to remain very close to Double Fine, so much so that he has made one of the songs on Psychonauts 2. But deep down the only clues are the latest job offers from the company. compañía, que está contratando a gente capaz de ayudar a “diseñar, desarrollar y mantener los servidores y las funciones online de un juego multijugador”. Hasta que Psychonauts 2 no llegue a las tiendas no vamos a salir de dudas, pero el logo del equipo es sinónimo de cosas diferentes y a buen seguro divertidas.

World’s Edge

• Año de fundación: 2019
• Sede: Redmond, en Washington, Estados Unidos
• Número aproximado de empleados: desconocido
• Juegos destacados: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (2019)

Es uno de los estudios más chiquititos y desconocidos de la familia Xbox, en parte por su divina juventud. Fundado en 2019, World’s Edge quiere ser a la saga Age of Empires lo que 343 Industries a Halo y The Coalition a Gears of War. Con su formación, Microsoft viene a corregir el error histórico de cerrar Ensemble Studios, los padres originales de la franquicia, a los que compró y, años después, desmanteló. El pasado, presente y futuro de World’s Edge pasa por dedicarse en cuerpo y alma a una marca histórica como Age of Empires, capaz de acumular más de 20 millones de juegos vendidos. Para ir cogiendo tono, World’s Ege ha empezado encargándose de Age of Empires II: Definitive Studio, y para ayudarles en su primera aportación a la serie, Age of Empires IV, contarán con la ayuda de Relic Entertainment, veterana del género. Posiblemente sea el miembro de Xbox Game Studios que más cuidará a los usuarios de PC (donde sus títulos salen por adelantado) y no queda sino desearles la mejor de las suertes. Por nuestra infancia. Por los RTS. Y por Ensemble Studios.

Bethesda Games Studios

• Año de fundación: 2001
• Sede: Rockville, en Maryland, Estados Unidos
• Número aproximado de empleados: 400
• Juegos destacados: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002), The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), Fallout 3 (2008), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), Fallout 4 (2015), Fallout 76 (2018)

¿Qué más se puede decir a estas alturas de los padres de The Elder Scrolls y Fallout? ¿Cómo calibrar su importancia para esta industria y para el rol occidental? ¿Quién de nosotros no ha probado Skyrim antes o después, o algunos de los últimos juegos en los que aparece Vault-Tec? Bethesda Game Studios cuenta con más de 400 empleados y tres sedes repartidas entre Canadá y Estados Unidos. Posiblemente fuera una de las razones que más peso tuvo y que más inclinó la balanza para que Microsoft desembolsara 7.500 millones de dólares y se hiciera con ZeniMax Media. Y de hecho, en vez de hablar de la compra “de ZeniMax Media”, la gente habló de la compra “de Bethesda”. Fue ésta la que se hizo trending topic a nivel mundial y es la exclusividad de sus próximos juegos la que más dudas ha generado en los que no tenían Xbox Series X/S en su cesta de la compra.

Los planes de Bethesda Games Studios ya tienen nombres y apellidos: The Elder Scrolls VI y Starfield. Del primero, viendo Morrowind, Oblivion y Skyrim, todos sabemos lo que podemos esperar: uno de esos juegos que acapara todos los focos, de los que sacuden el calendario de lanzamientos porque nadie quiere coincidir de él. Una cantidad de contenidos abrumadora y un universo de fantasía en el que perderse una y otra vez. Aunque nadie lo espera para 2021, raro sería que no diera señales de vida el año que viene, pues se cumplen tres desde su anuncio en el E3 de 2018 y cuanto tenemos es un trailer simbólico. Por su parte, Starfield es la primera nueva IP de la compañía desde hace más de dos décadas. Bethesda ha dejado claro mismo Starfield es su prioridad y que si bien están lejos de acabarlo, “la espera merecerá la pena”. Un RPG en el espacio llamado a convivir con TES y Fallout son palabras mayores. Ambos usarán un nuevo motor gráfico (“la mayor evolución desde Oblivion”) y, para hacer su mundo todavía más extenso y particular, usarán elementos procedurales. Solo tenemos tres dudas. La primera, si tendremos alguno en nuestras consolas antes de 2022; la segunda, si cantaremos bingo con un port de Skyrim para Xbox Series X/S; y la tercera, si los dos juegos se verán escoltados por una nueva entrega de Fallout (recordemos que Fallout 4 es de 2015), o si por el contrario habrá que conformarse con  que Fallout 76 reciba más refuerzos y expansiones a la manera de Wastelanders.

Arkane Studios

• Año de fundación: 1999
• Sede: Lyon, Francia
• Número aproximado de empleados: 150
• Juegos destacados: Dishonored (2002), Dishonored 2 (2016), Prey (2017), Dishonored: Muerte del forastero (2017)

A pesar de su fundación a finales del siglo pasado, Arkane no terminó de explotar hasta que fue adquirida por ZeniMax Media en 2010. Con el apoyo económico de ésta, la compañía francesa es otra de las que no ha dejado de crecer y demostrar su talento juego tras juego, convirtiéndose en uno de los estudios más cotizados del conglomerado. Para muchos es la heredera moderna de Valve y con razón, pues ésta fue su mentora entre 2006 y 2007, cuando trabajaron codo con codo en el cancelado Episodio 4 de Half-Life 2 que iba a llamarse Return to Ravenholm. En la actualidad son conocidos como los padres de Dishonored y Prey, dos aventuras en primera persona que destacaron por su diseño de niveles y que han sido merecedoras de multitud de premios y galardones. Son los casos del BAFTA a mejor juego de 2012 y de los dos The Game Awards a Mejor Juego de Acción y Aventura, por Dishonored y su secuela, Dishonored 2.

Arkane se divide en dos equipos, uno en Lyon (Francia) y otro en Texas (Estados Unidos). Arkane Lyon es el principal, el responsable de las dos entregas de Dishonored y los autores del único proyecto que la compañía tiene anunciado, Deathloop, que dicho sea de paso es una exclusiva temporal de PlayStation 5. Por su parte, Arkane Texas hizo Prey (el sucesor de System Shock y Bioshock la generación pasada, en la que ambos estuvieron ausentes). Estos andan trabajando en un segundo proyecto triple A del que no tenemos nombre, plataformas ni fecha estimada de lanzamiento (¿alguien dijo Prey 2?). Siendo así, el futuro del estudio pasa por Deathloop y ese título misterioso, y el futuro de Xbox Series X/S también. Porque no debería extrañarnos que Deathloop acabe aterrizando en Xbox Game Pass seis (o doce) meses después de su estreno en la plataforma de Sony. Pero al margen de esos dos trabajos, varios organismos europeos de calificación por edades han registrado ya la llamada Dishonored and Prey Arkane Collection, para Series X/S, que incluiría mejores específicas de ambas plataformas. Un aperitivo perfecto (y más si aparece en Game Pass) que sirve de adelanto a lo que se nos viene encima, seguramente no sea poco. Arkane ha firmado siete juegos en los últimos nueve años y en cuantos ha liderado el desarrollo no ha bajado del ocho en Metacritic.

id Software

• Año de fundación: 1991
• Sede: Richardson, en Texas, Estados Unidos
• Número aproximado de empleados: 200
• Juegos destacados: las sagas Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein (a partir de Wolfenstein 3D) y Rage; recientemente Doom (2016), Rage 2 (2019) y Doom Eternal (2020)

Mira que ha cambiado el elenco de caras tras los créditos de id Software en estos casi treinta años que la compañía lleva dando guerra, pero es como si en el fondo nadie hubiera tocado nada. Después de todo, sus juegos siguen destilando calidad y los últimos Doom se mantienen en la cima del género first person shooter. Y es precisamente uno de estos, Doom Eternal, o mejor dicho son sus expansiones las que más ocupados van a tenerles a corto plazo. El juego acaba de recibir la primera, llamada The Ancient Gods: Primera Parte, por lo que es de esperar una segunda que de sentido al título de ésta y termine de completar el season pass del juego, que viendo lo que pasó con Doom (2016) podría contar con un segundo pase de temporada. Al margen de Doom, Rage y algunas pinceladas de Quake son cuanto ha llamado la atención de la compañía esta última década, así que su futuro pase seguramente por un nuevo intento con ambas sagas. Y no estaría de más recordar la devoción de id por la tecnología, que seguramente les tenga inmersos en seguir potenciando el id Tech, y más ahora que tienen una plataforma concreta en la que hacerlo lucir todo su músculo técnico. Antes o después llevarán un nuevo espectáculo audivosual a nuestras Series X y una nueva delicia jugable a los mandos.

Machinegames

• Año de fundación: 2009
• Sede: Uppsala, Suecia
• Número aproximado de empleados: 75
• Juegos destacados: Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014), Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (2015), Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (2017), Wolfenstein: Youngblood (2019)

Antes hablábamos del resurgir de id Software y Doom con esa entrega de 2016 que se alzó hasta con el GOTY de FreeGameTips, pero no hemos mencionado que quizás parte del mérito resida en Machinegames. Este pequeño estudio europeo consiguió que id Software le diera la oportunidad de trabajar en una de sus sagas insignia, Wolfenstein, de la que sacó un resultado que a buen seguro sorprendió a la propia id Software. En 2014 y gracias a The New Order, Machinegames puso de nuevo a la franquicia en el escaparate mundial, con un shooter gamberro, repleto de situaciones tabú, originalidad y diversión, al que además dotó de un gunplay exquisito, ágil y preciso como pocos. Seguramente no hubo mejor acicate para que id Software trajera de vuelta a Doomguy. Esta última década, y con cuatro entregas más (The Old Blood, The New Colossus, Youngblood y Cyberpilot), Machinegames ha demostrado su talento para desarrollar FPS. Este último año lo ha puesto a disposición de la comunidad de Youngblood, para la que quería terminar de pulir la experiencia, pero Bethesda ya confirmó en su día que Wolfenstein III está en camino y que la MachineGames solo está “tomándose un descanso de la historia principal para probar cosas”, pero vaya, que quieren terminar la historia de la familia Blazkowicz. Hasta que llegue, pasa como con las obras de Arkane, y los organismos de calificación por edades dan por hecha la llegada a Xbox Game Pass de Wolfenstein Alt History Collection, con los cuatro juegos principales remozados para la nueva generación. Siendo así, tenemos Wolfenstein para rato.

Bethesda Softworks confirmó que “Wolfenstein III” está de camino para acabar de una vez con la épica historia de la familia Blazkowicz.

Tango Gameworks

• Año de fundación: 2010
• Sede: Shibaura, Tokio
• Número aproximado de empleados: 75
• Juegos destacados: The Evil Within (2014), The Evil Within 2 (2017)

Muchos vuelos de Phil Spencer a Japón y muchos rumores sobre la adquisición de una compañía japonesa por parte de Microsoft, pero finalmente ha sido ZeniMax la llave maestra que ha abierto a los de Redmond las puertas del país nipón. Tango Gameworks es el primer estudio tokiota de Xbox Game Studios y la desarrolladora en la que ha terminado asentándose la locura y el talento de Shinji Mikami, creador de creador de Resident Evil. Tras su periplo por Clover Studios, Seeds Inc., Platinum Games y Grasshoper Manufacture, el autor ha logrado encontrar la paz en esta desarrolladora, con la que ha vuelto a las raíces del terror y en los últimos años nos ha brindado The Evil Within. El estudio ahora está inmerso en Ghostwire Tokyo, un survival horror en primera persona que, al igual que Deathloop, será exclusivo temporal de PlayStation 5. En él recorreremos las calles de Tokio investigando la repentina aparición de toda clase de espíritus y amenazas sobrenaturales, a las que nos enfrentaremos con un enorme y poderoso elenco de habilidades, hechizos y recursos tecnológicos. Las dimensiones del estudio no invitan a pensar que pueda estar llevando otro título en paralelo, así que el futuro de Tango en el ecosistema Xbox pasa por volver a ver The Evil Within en Game Pass (ya para siempre) y esperar a que acaben los meses de exclusividad de Ghostwire Tokyo para que éste también haga lo propio. A partir de ahí, las cosas quedarán en manos de las musas de Mikami, como siempre.

Zenimax Online Studios

• Año de fundación: 2007
• Sede: Maryland, Estados Unidos
• Número aproximado de empleados: 300
• Juegos destacados: The Elder Scrolls Online (2014)

La gran potencia online dentro de la familia ZeniMax. Un equipo de alrededor de 300 empleados que se han venido encargando estos últimos años de The Elders Scrolls Online y sus respectivas expansiones, con las que han logrado la friolera de más de 15 millones de juegos vendidos. Aunque pretenden seguir cuidando de la comunidad de TES Online (y echando un cable con la de Fallout 76), desde hace meses ya es oficial que están trabajando en una nueva IP de presupuesto triple A que además lleva en desarrollo desde 2018. Además, con el juego, que damos por hecho que estará enfocado al multijugador, por no decir que será un nuevo MMO, se estrenará también un nuevo motor gráfico, como adelantaba estama semana Matt Firor, director de TES Online, quien decía así: “Sí, no mucho gente se ha fijado, pero entre los puestos de trabajo que ofrecemos se puede ver que buscamos gente para desarrollar el motor de un nuevo triple A. Por lo que sí, tenemos algunas ideas en mente, pero seguiremos comprometidos con TESO durante mucho tiempo”. Meses antes también aseguraron que querían que el MMO durara “como mínimo hasta la salida de The Elder Scrolls VI”, por lo que aún estamos a tiempo de formar parte de él.

Alpha Dog Games

Zenimax Online Studios ha prometido que, como mínimo, The Elder Scrolls Online seguirá recibiendo nuevo contenido hasta la llegada de TES VI. Como mínimo.

• Año de fundación: 2012
• Sede: Nueva Escocia, Canadá
• Número aproximado de empleados: desconocido
• Juegos destacados: MonstroCity: Rampage, Wrathborne

Desde 2019, la división de ZeniMax dedicada a dispositivos móviles y tabletas (iOS y Android) está liderada por Alpha Dog Games, los autores del remake de Ninja Gold, Wrathborne y MonstroCity: Rampage, títulos de los que, según su página web, han disfrutado más de millón y medio de personas. Al ser el segundo un free to play aún en activo, el estudio se dedica principalmente a dar soporte a ambos juegos, aunque desde el pasado mes de septiembre está reclutando gente y busca nuevas incorporaciones para su plantilla. Sin ningún anuncio en el horizonte, veremos qué papel le tiene reservado Microsoft a la desarrolladora dentro de Xbox Game Studios. Pero que nadie entienda esto como un ultimátum, pues el mismísimo Todd Vaugh, vicepresidente de desarrollo en Bethesda, aseguró estar “impresionado con el compromiso por la calidad del equipo de Alpha Dog”. En un mercado tan suculento como el móvil, es difícil que su importancia no vaya a más.

Roundhouse Studios

• Año de fundación: 2019
• Sede: Madison, Wisconsin
• Número aproximado de empleados: desconocido
• Juegos destacados: sin trabajos

Apenas se tiene información de Roundhouse Studio, estudio formado por ZeniMax Media en 2019 partiendo del núcleo humano (y nunca mejor dicho) de Human Head Studios, desarrollado que cayeró en bancarrota en 2013. Son los creadores de la saga Rune y de, caprichoso sea el destino, el Prey original, el que hubo en 2006 para Xbox 360, para muchos incluso mejor que el actual. Tiene algo de mágico en que ahora muchos de sus creadores forman parte del mismo equipo de Arkane, quienes les tomaron el relevo. Se desconoce tanto su tamaño aproximado como los juegos en que están trabajando, de los que se espera un anuncio “cuando estén listos para mostrarse”.

Alpha Dog Games y Roundhouse Studios son dos de las desarrolladores sobre las que más dudas hay, aunque no están exentas de talento. La última, sin ir más lejos, desarrolló el mítico Prey de Xbox 360.

Xbox Games Publishing

Y quedaría cerrar con Xbox Games Publishing, que sirve como recordatorio perfecto de que Microsoft también cuenta con juegos exclusivos realizados por estudios third parties, o lo que es lo mismo, desarrolladoras independientes. Xbox Games Publishing no se dedica a realizar proyectos propios, sino que es un equipo especializado que ayuda a producir y sacar adelante proyectos de terceros, con la condición de limitar su salida al ecosistema Xbox o las plataformas que Microsoft decida. Son los casos de Ori and the Blind Forest y Ori and the Will of the Wisps con Moon Studios; Crackdown 3 con Sumo Digital; Gears Tactics, con Splash Damage; de Tell Me Why, con Dontnod Entertainment. De cara al futuro ya podemos contar con tres nuevas incorporaciones a su historial: CrossfireX, de Smilegate (con una campaña de Remedy Entertainment); Ask Dusk Falls, de Interior/Night; y un nuevo proyecto de Asobo Studio (con quienes ya han trabajado estupendamente para hacer realidad Microsoft Flight Simulator). Nombres que, si los sumamos a la extensísima lista que se ha ido formando a lo largo del artículo, demuestra la enorme cantidad de juegos exclusivos en camino para la nueva consola, posiblemente la mayor jamás albergada por una consola de Microsoft. No cabe duda, el futuro de Xbox Series X/S se antoja brillante y esto solo acaba de empezar.